Tecan Signals Recovery with Strong Orders, Eyes AI for Future Growth

MÄNNEDORF, SWITZERLAND – January 09, 2026 – Laboratory automation leader Tecan Group has signaled a potential turnaround, reporting a return to moderate sales growth and a significant uptick in order entry in the latter half of 2025. While full-year sales saw a slight dip, the strong forward-looking indicators suggest the company is navigating a complex market and positioning itself for future expansion, with a strategic focus on the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence in life sciences.

In a preliminary trading statement for the 2025 fiscal year, the Swiss-based company announced that full-year group sales totaled CHF 882.5 million. This figure represents a modest 1.6% decrease in local currencies compared to the previous year. However, the narrative shifts when looking at the year's second half, which saw sales increase by 0.4% in local currencies, indicating a halt to the earlier decline and a pivot towards growth.

A Tale of Two Halves and a Strong Order Book

The most encouraging sign for investors and the market lies in the company's order book. For the full year, order entry grew a healthy 3.8% in local currencies to CHF 900.9 million. This momentum accelerated dramatically in the second half of 2025, with order entry surging by an impressive 8.6% in local currencies.

This robust demand resulted in a book-to-bill ratio of over 1 for the full year across both of Tecan's major business segments. A ratio above 1 is a key performance indicator signifying that a company is receiving more new orders than it is fulfilling through sales, which typically points to revenue growth in the subsequent quarters. This backlog provides a buffer and a clearer outlook on future performance, even as the broader market remains in a state of gradual recovery.

The contrast between the full-year sales figures and the accelerating order entry paints a picture of a company that weathered market headwinds in early 2025 but is now seeing renewed demand for its automation solutions and partnership services.

Leadership Navigates a Shifting Market

Tecan's leadership acknowledged the mixed results while emphasizing a clear strategy for the path ahead. «While the revenue performance in 2025 does not yet reflect the full potential of Tecan, the strong order entry is encouraging,» said CEO Monica Manotas in the company's statement.

Manotas outlined a vision focused on adapting to a market that is not expected to fully normalize in 2026. «Looking ahead to 2026, we expect end markets to recover gradually, with steady improvement in the broader environment but no full normalization yet anticipated,» she stated. «Against this backdrop, we are focused on enhancing Tecan’s performance and future-proofing our business.»

This strategy aligns with broader trends observed across the life sciences sector. After a post-pandemic slump, the industry is rebounding, driven by strategic investments, renewed M&A activity, and a wave of innovation. The global lab automation market alone, valued at approximately USD 6.5 billion in 2025, is projected by industry analysts to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 7%, potentially reaching USD 9 billion by 2030. Tecan's focus on performance and profitability positions it to compete effectively against other industry giants like Thermo Fisher Scientific and Agilent Technologies.

The AI-Powered Laboratory of the Future

A cornerstone of Tecan's future-proofing strategy is its commitment to capitalizing on what Manotas called the «accelerated adoption of AI in life sciences.» This is not merely a buzzword but a reflection of a profound technological shift transforming research and diagnostics.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly moving from a theoretical concept to a practical tool in laboratories worldwide. It is being deployed to revolutionize drug discovery by identifying promising molecular candidates at unprecedented speeds. In diagnostics, AI algorithms analyze complex medical images and genomic data to assist in early and more accurate disease detection. Furthermore, AI is the engine behind the next generation of lab automation, enabling 'self-driving labs' that can conduct experiments, analyze results, and even formulate new hypotheses with minimal human intervention, dramatically increasing efficiency and reproducibility.

By explicitly tying its growth strategy to this trend, Tecan is aligning itself with one of the most powerful drivers in the modern life sciences industry. The company's expertise in creating the robotic and fluid-handling hardware for automation provides a critical foundation for integrating the software and AI-driven analytics that customers increasingly demand.

Diverging Paths in Business Segments

A deeper look into Tecan's preliminary results reveals diverging trends between its two core divisions. The Partnering Business, which operates as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for other major diagnostics and life science companies, was a standout performer in the second half of 2025. This segment saw its sales increase by a strong 3.3% in local currencies during this period, reversing a decline from the first half of the year. This rebound suggests that Tecan's large corporate partners are seeing increased demand for their own products and are ramping up their instrumentation orders.

In contrast, the Life Sciences Business, which sells directly to academic, government, and pharmaceutical research labs, experienced a 3.2% sales decline in local currencies in the second half. This suggests that while large-scale OEM demand is recovering, spending in some research sectors may still be constrained or subject to more volatility.

Despite these differences, the strong overall order entry and the positive book-to-bill ratio in both segments provide a solid foundation for the year ahead. Tecan reaffirmed its adjusted EBITDA margin guidance for 2025 and reiterated its medium-term outlook of returning to mid- to high-single-digit organic growth. The company will provide its official guidance for 2026 when it publishes its full, audited financial results on March 16, 2026, an announcement the market will be watching closely for further confirmation of this recovery.